Vamana Purana — Sarasvata Hymn to Vishnu, Shloka 77

The Sarasvata Hymn to Vishnu (Vishnu-Pañjara) and the Redemption of a Rakshasa

Devanagari script

पुण्यपापविनिर्मुक्ता यं प्रविश्य पुनर्भवम् न योगिनः प्राप्नुवन्ति तमस्मि शरणं गतः

Transliteration

puṇyapāpavinirmuktā yaṃ praviśya punarbhavam na yoginaḥ prāpnuvanti tamasmi śaraṇaṃ gataḥ

Translation

[{"question": "Does the verse claim that Viṣṇu literally becomes Brahmā, or that He empowers Brahmā?", "answer": "The phrasing 'brahma bhūtvā' supports a Purāṇic theological idiom where Viṣṇu is the ultimate source who either assumes the creator-function or manifests/empowers Brahmā as His office. The intent is supremacy and causality: creation proceeds from Acyuta."}, {"question": "Why list devas, asuras, and humans specifically?", "answer": "It signals totality across moral and ontological categories—celestial, anti-celestial, and terrestrial—indicating that all beings within saṃsāra are included in the created order and thus under the same divine source."}, {"question": "What is the devotional force of 'śaraṇaṃ gataḥ' here?", "answer": "It is a formal declaration of surrender: the speaker grounds refuge not in a limited deity of one function, but in the transcendent Lord who underlies even the creator-role, making Him the most reliable shelter."}]

Speakers

• Unspecified in the provided excerpt (stuti voice within the Saro-māhātmya narrative frame).

Primary Deities

• Vishnu

Key Themes

• Mokṣa (freedom from rebirth)
• Transcending puṇya and pāpa (beyond karmic duality)
• Yogic attainment and its culmination
• Śaraṇāgati

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

{ "primaryRasa": "shanta", "secondaryRasa": "karuna", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

FAQs

Why does the verse say liberation involves being freed from both puṇya and pāpa?

Both merit (puṇya) and sin (pāpa) are forms of karma that yield results within saṃsāra. Liberation is described as transcending karmic accounting altogether—going beyond dualities that keep one within the cycle of reward and consequence.

What does “yaṃ praviśya” (“entering whom”) mean—union, proximity, or a heavenly realm?

Purāṇic diction allows layered meanings: entering can signify attaining the Lord’s supreme state (parama-pada), abiding in His presence, or realizing identity/union in a Vedāntic sense. The decisive marker here is the result: no return to punarbhava (rebirth).

Why mention yogins specifically?

By referencing yogins, the verse underscores that even the highest disciplined practitioners culminate in the same final refuge: the Supreme Lord. It also elevates the stuti’s claim—this refuge is not merely for ordinary devotees but is the consummation of yogic striving.